Coalition Soldier Killed North of Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A coalition soldier trying to defuse a roadside bomb (search) was shot and killed by insurgents, the U.S. military said Sunday.

The soldier, who wasn't a member of the U.S. Army, was shot late Saturday night in northwestBaghdad (search) while on patrol with other coalition troops. He was the first coalition soldier killed by hostile fire in Iraq since Feb. 19 when two Americans died in a roadside bombing near Khaldiyah, 50 miles west of the capital.

The name of the soldier and his nationality were withheld pending notification of his family.

Of non-U.S. coalition members, Britain has had the most losses with 58 deaths. Italy has had 17 killed; Spain, eight; Bulgaria, five; Thailand, two; and Denmark, Ukraine and Poland have reported one each.

As of Sunday, 547 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq, according to theDepartment of Defense (search). Of those, 378 died as a result of hostile action and 169 died of non-hostile causes, the department said.